I’ve received several reports that on election day, March 2nd, someone was going around and setting up stands labeled “Sample Republican Ballots” that were filled with voter slate cards. Two precincts in Kingwood, #’s 562 and 760 were named specifically. If you saw them, took a sample “ballot”, or took a picture, please contact me. Thanks much.

In case you missed it, I wrote here (and here) about allegations that Mr. Huntoon was involved in water theft. Many allegations and charges were leveled via comments and email that I had to block until I could verify them.

First off, here is a picture of the “modified” piping by which the water was diverted around the meter. Next to it is a copy of a letter from the subsidence district proving that the association did in fact have to pay a fine because of the diversion.

So, yes, there is no question about the diversion. Still no proof that Mr. Huntoon did it, only the recording in which he suggested it. Remember that Mr. Huntoon maintains that someone else actually did it and that he was only trying to get an out of control homeowner off his back, never intending to do this himself.

A second recording has surfaced that might actually help Mr. Huntoon, although the purpose it was sent to me was to hurt him. The audio isn’t great but it is understandable if you turn up the volume and listen carefully. In it, the homeowner, Alex, records Mr. Huntoon, they get into an argument, Alex tells George that he should resign, George tells Alex that he is a loser and that George will always win.

{mp3}georgeh02{/mp3}

Like I said, it is intended to hurt Mr. Huntoon but at least it does verify that there was an ongoing dispute and that Mr. Huntoon didn’t just lose his temper out of the blue one day.

There were also charges that Mr. Huntoon has several open cases in JP Pct 5, Plc 2 and these turned out to be true. Houston DWI Attorney Paul B. Kennedy was able to find those and listed them in this blog post: By George, you might just be on to something

Lastly, there was a charge that Mr. Huntoon had been arrested for assault. This too turned out to be true and this too provides added context for this whole affair. You can view the record of the case here.

It turns out that this occurred at…a homeowners association meeting. The complainant, Brunello “Bruno” Salesi, charged that Mr. Huntoon put him into a headlock at the meeting in February, 2006, threatened him and then pushed him. Police were called, Alief ISD officers responded, and Mr. Huntoon was eventually charged. Eventually, after 2 No-Shows and 5 Resets, the case was dismissed in December of 2008 when Mr. Salesi failed to appear in court. I asked him why he did not show after persisting almost 3 years to obtain justice:

The first court date was exactly one year after the incident.   I went to court repeatedly as the date was reset I kept taking off of work and going to the court, along with witnesses, one of which specifically flew back in from a work trip to Atlanta (none too happy) to respond to the courts request to appear.  This witness showed a couple of times and then was pretty upset about being drug into this mess so he eventually bowed out.  Another woman was more devoted and continued to show after a couple of years of no-shows, the whole thing starts taking a toll on both me and my neighbors.   I believe on the final date, I was either on a trip out of town for work or vacation.  I don’t recall that far back but usually I am off of work around mid-December and I think that year, I may have been at a customer site in North Dakota in the run-up to vacation.  Between George, JP Yeoman, and George’s attorney, I believe there was some delay tactics employed outside of what would be reasonable delays/resets – see the record below.   When it appears that the system is rigged, what is one to do?  I personally called JP Yeoman’s office to inquire what was going on and I spoke to an assistant and also left a voicemail for Yeoman who did not return my call – I expect that perhaps he could not speak to me directly but my voicemail was clear that I was prepared to file a complaint with the state against Yeoman if he did not bring this case to an end.  I had hoped that at least the next time I was in court that the issue would be addressed but there was no such luck.  George bragged a bit about being connected and it appears that he was.  Exactly how many times is it reasonable for me and other witnesses to miss work for this when the case appears rigged?  I felt particularly bad about the witnesses from my neighborhood being drug through the mess and at considerable expense.

Other than the “rigged” charge, it seems reasonable that at some point in time, people just give up. Clearly, Mr. Salesi made an effort to have this case brought to trial. I left a voicemail for Mr. Huntoon, asking him if he wished to comment on the number of missed court appearances and resets but have not received a return call.

Voters will have to make the ultimate decision but at least there is some context to the charges. Homeowners disputes can and often do become very nasty, which is why most people would do well to avoid neighborhoods without them. Of course, then there’s the guy down the street that thinks he’s the real Jethro Bodine and drives your property values down. So it is a tradeoff but at least be very wary about them.

Does George Huntoon have the temperament to be Justice of the Peace in one of the largest courts in the State? We’ll find out what the voters think on April 13th.

UPDATE 3/9 12:30 pm: Mr. Huntoon has objected to my use of the term “arrested” above. I was simply looking at the case file on the JP website, where it states “Arresting Agency” and “Arresting Officer”. I asked a legal scholar about this and this is his reply:

It would be very unusual for a person to be arrested for a Class C misdemeanor. My experience with the JIMS system is that it says “arrest” because that’s how the system is set up to process the information. The JP’s site is pulling information from a county-wide database that’s not limited to the JP courts, and that system is set up to process information about arrests and arresting officers, not citations and citing officers — it also handles more serious misdemeanors and felonies. For instance, here’s a case from Judge Lawrence’s court showing that the defendant was “arrested” by an “arresting officer” for failing to yield the right-of-way while leaving a driveway, http://web.jp.hctx.net/CaseInfo/GetCaseInfo?case=TR42X2220659, and another showing the same for not carrying proof of insurance, http://web.jp.hctx.net/CaseInfo/GetCaseInfo?case=TR42X2222149. For good measure, one from Judge Yeoman’s court showing a parent “arrested” for contributing to a child’s non-attendance at school: http://web.jp.hctx.net/CaseInfo/GetCaseInfo?case=CR52C1024743.

Mr. Huntoon also objected to my use of “big fella” and “big guy” in the comments section of this post. I admit that I was ticked off that he didn’t return my call and instead chose to dispute the post via comments. Nevertheless, I should have refrained from the temptation to escalate the issue and for that I apologize.

Shoreacres is a small city on the coast of Galveston Bay, nestled between La Porte on the north and Seabrook on the south. I happen to be a resident of the city and follow the community bulletin board.

On Friday afternoon, March 5th, the following was posted by council member Woodruff:

Beware of an aggressive speed trap on the north feeder of Hwy 146 between Wharton-Weems and Fairmont. The posted speed for the feeder road is 35 mph.

If you get pulled over, my suggestion is to call a friend and have them listening to the traffic stop over the cell phone in case you need a witness. I suggest this because of my experience last night:

On March 4th, 2010 at appx. 3:30pm I was pulled over for a minor traffic violation. I am a 38 yr old female, have no previous arrest record and no outstanding warrants. My registration, insurance and license all bear the correct local address. The Officers entered ticketing information into an electronic handheld device. Officer Briscoe told me to sign in the box. The problem though is that the box said “speeding” and had an “x” and a line for me to sign. There was no specification of the charges or a statement that signing was not an admission of guilt. I requested a print out (I could not scroll upwards to read it electronically) . Officer Briscoe refused and told me if I didn’t sign he’d “throw my ass in jail”. Officer Jones had joined Officer Briscoe during the conversation. The threat was repeated and I started to become nervous at the hostility. I signed my signature with a notation “under duress” and the Officer’s last names.

Jones asked Briscoe if I’d signed it and Briscoe read off my notations. Rage lit up in Jones’ eyes and I began dialing 911 on my phone. Briscoe reached through the window and knocked the phone out of my hand as the car door was opened and I was yanked out, slammed against the hood and handcuffed tightly behind my back. I attempted to scream for help to nearby residences to no avail. I was then placed in the squad car while Officer Jones called a wrecker for my SUV. All in all a frightening experience.

When my friend bonded me out a few hours later the only charge against me was the speeding, which is not an arrestable offense. The citation print out given to me when released from jail (this was the first time I’d been told what I had been arrested for and I had not been advised of my rights at anytime) had three inaccuracies: the model of my car, the posted speed of the road and my signature & notation had been deleted and replaced with “insalter”.

The aggression of the Officers was not required and tampering with the citation (which I would consider evidence) makes me consider what other circumstances do these Officers abuse their position of trust & authority. It is my guess that most people cave to the intimidation when there are kids at home or they are on their way to work.

At the La Porte jail Officer Copely allowed me to make a call arranging for my dog’s feeding that night since arraignments had been completed for the day. My friend called Shoreacres P.D. who told her that a La Porte officer had called him asking if he knew me (he responded he did); he also told her it was possible to just put a cash bond down to have me released…waiting for arraignment was not necessary.

La Porte has received a federal grant for a Step program. While there are no quotas it is my understanding that a certain number of violations have to be cited to retain the funding.

I have filed a complaint with La Porte PD Internal Affairs and the ACLU.

If you are being pulled over in La Porte consider making a call on your cell phone and leaving the line open during the traffic stop. Officer Jones is a motorcycle officer and Officer Briscoe was in a squad car.

It is my sincere hope no one else goes through this experience.

Regards,

Dana Woodruff

You may wonder why I’m putting this story out there. Several reasons come to mind. First, Ms. Woodruff is an elected city official in Harris County and that is the thrust of my work here. Second, I have seen that speed trap and it serves no safety function whatsoever. It is purely a revenue enhancement for the City of La Porte. Third, the allegation that a police officer or officers can tamper with electronic records is unsettling. Think through the consequences of that if it is true. Fourth, we conservatives often turn a blind eye to accounts of police abuse because of our “law and order” mentality, which creates a perception that we condone this behavior.

I have attempted to get the La Porte police side of the story without success. I’ve left messages with the Public Information/Internal Affairs Officer John Krueger and the Mayor of La Porte, Republican Barry Beasley. If I ultimately receive a response, I will update this.

UPDATE 3/8 5:50 pm: I spoke to Mayor Beasley this evening prior to the regularly scheduled City Council meeting. There has been a complaint filed, it is being investigated, any information about prior complaints relating to these two officers must be obtained through an Open Records request, and the Mayor has a meeting scheduled with Councilmember Woodruff this Thursday.

I would like to thank Mayor Beasley for responding to my inquiry and I will follow up on this complaint.

UPDATE 2, 3/9 9:15 am: Det. Krueger, the LPPD Internal Affairs Officer returned my call. Ms. Woodruff filed her complaint on 3/5/10. LPPD policy gives Det. Krueger 30 working days to complete his investigation, which by my calculations would be April 19th. He can, however, request an extension from the Chief of Police if needed. He stated that because of the numerous allegations in the complaint, including the potential of altering electronic records, that there might be a need to ask for an extension.

I asked about Open Records Requests for any previous complaints filed against the officers involved and he told me that the City would fight their release as standard procedure. Which means that I probably will not ask because I’d rather spend the money elsewhere but maybe one of those big city newspapers will take this up. Altering electronic records is scary, if that is possible.

I had pinned my small measure of hope on the fact that I had gotten to know the two men left standing in the race, incumbent Jared Woodfill and challenger Ed Hubbard, quite well over the course of the last year. Both of them are good men with solid core conservative beliefs, as well as men of integrity.

Unfortunately, that integrity is not shared by Mr. Woodfill’s key supporters.

On Thursday last week, at the Downtown Houston Pachyderm club, Ed Hubbard held up a copy of the Link Letter and asked: is this they type of party you want? One in which there are three gatekeepers (referring to the Link Letter, the Texas Conservative Review and Conservative Republicans of Texas)? One in which there is a whiff of pay-to-play?

Rather than be introspective and try to seek understanding, the proprietor of the Link Letter, Terry Lowry, took that as a personal attack.

As such, early on Sunday morning, less than a week after the primary election, Mr. Lowry decided to attack Mr. Hubbard on Facebook, giving us just a glimmer of where this race is going.

First he stated:

It’s one thing to encourage all voters to consider conservative, pro-life, pro-family candidates…but to recruit Pro-abortion, homosexual activists to become leaders in the Harris County Republican Party…not on my watch.

When asked to whom he was referring, he stated:

Ed Hubbard!

Laughable accusations, of course. Mr. Hubbard has not recruited “pro-abortion, homosexual activists” for anything, much less leadership positions in the HCRP. But truth really doesn’t matter to Mr. Lowry, as we have seen in past elections. Mr. Hubbard responded on his website.

Mr. Lowry was encouraged in his efforts by one of Mr. Woodfill’s direct campaign workers, Bill Kneer, and later by his other worker, Richard Dillon. Rather than repeat everything here, you can view their entries on Facebook.

I was unaware of all of this because I was enjoying a wonderful day of worship at church and then a family lunch. When I returned home, I had several emails pointing this out. So I contacted Mr. Woodfill and asked him to please put an end to this. He agreed to call them.

Unfortunately, it is hard to control a loose cannon, although I trust that Mr. Woodfill tried and will continue to try. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, seeing this discord, responded to Mr. Lowry.

Terry, when you refer to your watch are you referring to your stance as an individual or as an appointed representative of the local party? I received your diatribe since you are one of my friends on Facebook, but I believe there are many conservatives who do not share every one of your views or of my views.

Rather than take a hint from Harris County’s top Republican, Mr. Lowry attacked him too:

To Ed Emmett: Is your stated position: if a precinct does not have a republican precinct chair, and a pro-choice/pro-homosexual desires the position, then the leadership should appoint the first willing body to this leadership position, irregardless of their pro-choice and/or pro-homosexual stand?

To which Judge Emmett eloquently responded:

Terry, you offer a false choice. Many very conservative folks are tolerant of homosexuals, not “pro homosexual” as you phrase it. Ronald Reagan openly campaigned for several candidates who differed from him on how to define pro-life. When challenged, he always said he supported the most conservative in a race, not o…ne who agreed completely with him. By the way, he also declined to speak ill of another Republican and did not narrowly define Republican as only those who agree with him all the time. Of course, he was attacked regularly by some for not being “a true conservative.” The voters begged to differ.

Mr. Lowry refused to stop, repeating his question about open precinct chair positions. Judge Emmett had one final reply:

Final comment. Terry, as I posted on your wall, you seem to view anyone who is tolerant as being “pro”. Ronald Reagan could not pass muster by your current standard. I urge you to refrain from name calling and confrontation. We need to build a party that can win in November based on conservative principles, as outlined by Ronald Reagan and many others.

Mr. Lowry wasn’t done yet, finishing with this:

The spirit of the devil wants to divide the Harris County Republican Party. On the left is Ed Hubbard who is supported by pro-choice moderate republicans and libertarians; and on the right is Jared Woodfill. Do not be deceived…a wolf comes in sheep’s clothing. The liberals want to remove the pro-life position for the party. Not on my watch…not without a fight.

It is obvious that Mr. Lowry is feeling much pressure to stop selling his endorsement and is reacting to the possible loss of income. It is also important to remember that in 2008, when Mr. Hubbard was a rookie candidate and a consultant advised him to pay Mr. Lowry $6,000, he received Mr. Lowry’s endorsement. Now that no money was exchanged between the two of them, Mr. Hubbard is suddenly a leftist RINO. Coincidence? No, sadly, it isn’t.

It is also obvious that only one person can stop him and that person is Jared Woodfill. I want to stress that we should not place the blame for the attacks yesterday on Mr. Woodfill in any sense other than during his eight years in office, this is the type of atmosphere that has been allowed to fester in the party. Mr. Woodfill was unaware of and did not orchestrate the attacks yesterday.

As I mentioned, I have gotten to know Mr. Woodfill very well over the past year. The reason I do not support his re-election has nothing to do with his personal character, which I have found to be impeccable. I simply do not think that he has the right set of skills to turn the HCRP around and to lead it forward. But his personal character should not be in question and for Mr. Lowry, Mr. Kneer, and Mr. Dillon to bring his character into question is unacceptable.

Only Mr. Woodfill can stop this. No one else. As Harris County Republicans, we need to see the Jared Woodfill that stood up to Chuck Rosenthal. We need to see that strength of character, to be that man that stands up and says, no more.

Jared, as I asked yesterday, please ask your surrogates to back away from these personal attacks. Not only for the good of the HCRP, but to show the world what a man of integrity looks like. A public statement saying that you do not condone these types of personal attacks would go a long, long way to stopping them.

On Monday, I put up a note about which included a recording in which George Huntoon suggests to a homeowner that they bypass a water metering station to avoid paying for the water necessary to fill up a retention pond. A pond that the subdivision Silverlake called a “lake” to enhance the status of the subdivision. I spoke with Mr. Huntoon and Houston DWI Attorney Paul B. Kennedy and confirmed that the recording was authentic. But, I never spoke to the other candidate that I mentioned, Attorney Jeff Williams.

In the note, I used the terms “clandestine” and “blackmail”. Today, I received an email from Mr. Williams, upset that I had used those terms without calling him first. He says that the terms reflect badly upon his character and that he did nothing wrong in this episode. I called and spoke to him at length about the issue.

Upon reflection, he is correct. I should have called him. I used the term “clandestine” with poetic license – Mr. Huntoon never used that term. In fact, according to Mr. Williams, the first meeting took place at a Whataburger because the Denny’s next door was crowded. He explained that when he saw that Denny’s was crowded, he suggested they move next door to the Whataburger because it was less crowded, hence, more private. Not clandestine.

Which brings us to the purpose of the meeting. The reason Mr. Williams wanted privacy, he states, is because he knew that the materials he had to show Mr. Huntoon were indeed sensitive. Rather than trying to blackmail Mr. Huntoon, Mr. Williams wanted to save him the embarrassment that he thought would come from having the materials go public. Well, at least more public, because the materials were already public, they just weren’t part of an election campaign.

And, although it is certainly humbling, he is correct, I should have called him. I should not have used “clandestine” to “spice up” the story. And I should not have used “blackmail” without confirming that was his purpose. If I had called, I would have known that his purpose was noble.

I apologize to Mr. Williams. And I apologize to you, the reader. My stated purpose for doing this work is to highlight the truth and I failed in that area in this instance.

The election ended with these two men in a runoff. This runoff is going to get very, very nasty because that is the nature of runoff elections. I wish it weren’t so but it is. I hope that by acknowledging this mistake now, I can cover it from a distance, fairly and equitably. Thank you for your support.